Experiences of equine assisted therapy for females with autism spectrum disorders

IF 1.1 Q4 PSYCHOLOGY, DEVELOPMENTAL
Katie Warner, S. Keville, Jemma Hockley, A. Ludlow
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Abstract

Purpose This research indicates females with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) have a diverse clinical presentation compared to males. Furthermore, females with ASD are often diagnosed later and typically experience greater levels of mental health difficulties. Evidence suggests that clinic-based verbal interventions for ASD have limited efficacy; therefore, alternative therapies, such as equine-assisted therapies (EATs), are gaining recognition. The purpose of this study was to directly explore the experiences of females with an ASD who have undertaken EAT. Design/methodology/approach Five female participants with a diagnosis of ASD were recruited from two equine therapy centres. Participants were aged between 15 and 30 years and undertook semi-structured interviews, which were analysed using interpretative phenomenological analysis. Findings Three superordinate themes emerged: the difficult experience of the social world, the process of EAT and the emotional impact of horses. Originality/value Directly exploring the experiences of females with ASD highlights benefits from engaging therapeutically with horses, building confidence and independence to transferring this into more effective social communication with other people. Offering emotion-focused therapeutic complementary interventions for females with ASD should be forefronted to help remediate the impact of difficult and sometimes traumatic earlier experiences in the social world. This requires increased funding for EAT, combined with larger-scale research projects to evaluate this.
马辅助治疗女性自闭症谱系障碍的经验
目的本研究提示女性自闭症谱系障碍(asd)患者的临床表现与男性患者不同。此外,患有自闭症谱系障碍的女性往往诊断较晚,通常会经历更大程度的精神健康问题。有证据表明,临床语言干预对ASD的效果有限;因此,替代疗法,如马辅助疗法(EATs),正在获得认可。本研究的目的是直接探讨患有ASD的女性接受饮食治疗的经历。设计/方法/方法从两个马治疗中心招募了5名诊断为ASD的女性参与者。参与者年龄在15至30岁之间,并进行了半结构化访谈,使用解释性现象学分析对其进行了分析。研究发现:三个最重要的主题出现了:社会世界的艰难经历、EAT的过程和马的情感影响。独创性/价值直接探索患有ASD的女性的经历,突出了与马进行治疗的好处,建立了自信和独立性,并将其转化为与他人更有效的社会沟通。为患有自闭症谱系障碍的女性提供以情感为中心的补充性治疗干预措施,应该放在首位,以帮助纠正社会世界中困难的、有时是创伤性的早期经历的影响。这需要增加对生态环境评估的资助,并结合更大规模的研究项目来评估这一点。
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来源期刊
Advances in Autism
Advances in Autism PSYCHOLOGY, DEVELOPMENTAL-
CiteScore
2.30
自引率
0.00%
发文量
13
期刊介绍: Advances in Autism is unique in its focus on the health and care aspects and outcomes for people with autism. The journal''s content is international in focus and peer-reviewed. It includes the following: research-based articles evidence-based clinical and support articles articles on policy and advances in services where these can be internationally applied. Key areas of research covered include: clinical developments people''s experience through qualitative research policy debates and outcomes inclusion and quality of life developmental issues population and epidemiological studies services developments evidence-based reviews of key practice issues.
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